Ikigai
by Just a Little Spark
Summary: A collection of AU's and long one shots. /009: Tadashi would never look at whipped cream the same way again./ (Tomadashi) (Will always be marked as 'complete')
1. Muse

_As I'm planning to make this another collection of AU's, this fic will always be marked as 'complete'. Wondering why I have another AU collection? Check the AN after this AU. I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

 _AU #001: Writer!Tadashi; a.k.a, in which Tadashi is grossly uninspired and needs a muse._

(*)

"I'm really sorry, Tadashi," Wasabi winces, rubbing a hand over his chin. "I really want to get this newest book of yours on the next stages, I really do, but something just isn't _clicking_ for me when it comes to the love interest. I think she plays a bit…" he pauses, and chooses an appropriate word for his client. "Safe."

Tadashi Hamada, New York Times Bestselling Author, groans loudly and slams his head onto the desk, nearly upsetting his mug of coffee. "But I don't _know_ what you want me to do! First she was too snarky, then she was too cowardly, then she was too flighty, now she's too _safe_?" Tadashi looks up at his editor, the bags under his eyes making Wasabi feel even guiltier. "Dude, you're a great editor, an even greater friend, but… Don't you think you're asking too much of me?"

Wasabi tries to smile at his long-time friend. "Tadashi. I've been your editor for what, five years now? I know you can do better than her." He gestures at the pile of papers in between the two of them. "You've written beautiful characters. Complex, frightening, relatable characters. Heck, you made me fall in love with Nyssa from your last book. And you know I rarely ask you to edit your own characters. She doesn't fit perfectly into your book." His eyes soften, understanding how frustrated Tadashi must feel. "Okay? I'll give you two weeks to re-do her. Make her amazing."

Tadashi sighs heavily, and stands up. "I'll do my best," he replies somberly, gathering his papers as he gets ready to leave. He smiles weakly as he makes his way to the door, already having nightmares about sleep-deprived nights.

"Hey."

The author turns around, expecting to see a disappointed look on Wasabi's face, and is mildly surprised to see a smile on Wasabi's face. "What?"

"Dude. I know it's been a rough month for you, so I have three words to tell you. _You are magic_. You create worlds and people with your mind, breathe them alive with your words. If that's not magic, I don't know what that is. That's something you authors fail to remember at your low points. Keep that in mind. Be a wizard. Make your magic."

(*)

 _I don't really feel like magic right now…_ Tadashi thinks to himself as he searches for an empty table at his favorite café. He holds his order, a simple mug of coffee (more sugar than cream) in his right hand. He sighs, and looks at the overwhelmingly crowded café.

Tadashi values silence while writing, but it's different when he's trying to conceptualize an actual story with characters. He enjoys people watching – seeing people in their 'natural habitat', as they went on with their lives, unaware of the inspiration they gave him, and the life they gave to his writing. He loves sitting in busy places and writing ideas in his little red notebook, making notes and stemming from there.

He plans on doing that today, in the busiest café in the city.

That is, if he could actually _find_ a seat.

His eyes finally reach a table in front of a window. The harsh sunlight shines directly on three-fourths of the table, which is most likely the reason why there is only one person currently occupying it. A young woman sits typing in front of her laptop, chewing gum. A plate of assorted, untouched cookies sits near her laptop, and she is apparently not close to taking a break.

Tadashi's not one for sharing tables (the awkward conversation can sometimes be suffocating and distracting) but because he simply has no other choice, he walks over hesitantly to the young woman. "Uhm… hi. Is this seat taken?"

Her fingers pause over her keyboard and she looked up at him, mid-bubblegum chew. Dark eyes appraise him as she cocks an eyebrow up at him. As they lock eyes, something in Tadashi short-circuits, and he blurts out the first words he can think of.

"I won't sit directly across or next to you so that people don't assume we're on a date or anything," he cuts in, thinking that she's going to say no. "And I promise not to bug you, since it looks like you're doing something important like hacking into the FBI database." His ears turn red – he had never been good at talking to women, and this just sealed the deal.

She stares up at him in shock, eyebrows starting to raise higher and higher up her forehead. Tadashi winces; he might as well have just shot himself in the foot. She finally shakes her head, rolling her eyes. "I have half a mind to say no, but… Go wild," she mutters, dramatically gesturing at the seat diagonal from her.

Tadashi quickly takes his seat before she changes her mind, and smiles gratefully to her. "Thanks."

She nods once, her eyes already glued back to her laptop screen. "No problemo."

He decides to get working to avoid any more awkward conversation, so he opens his red notebook, already full of scribbles and notes. Tadashi gets to work, first focusing on the old lady sitting on a park bench directly outside the café. She looks like someone who has a gentle heart, he decides. She looks like someone who would be named Catherine, and go by Cathy. This old woman, who's absentmindedly stroking a cat sitting on her lap, has lost someone close to her and she still thinks about him (or her) every single day. Tadashi writes a full page of what he thinks might have been, and decides that 'Cathy' seems more like a mother-figure to his protagonist, instead of the powerful female lead he needs to write.

Another person catches his eye, and this time, it's the waitress. She flits around her customers with a smile on her face, carrying both hot and cold beverages, and the occasional pastries. Her nametag spells out the name 'Ella' in big, bubbly letters. Tadashi starts writing a paragraph how she seems like someone who works hard to get what she wants, until he realizes that she seems a lot like the latest female protagonist that Wasabi rejected.

He drums his fingers lightly on the tabletop as he tries to think – and he hopes he isn't bothering his hacker for a table mate. His eyes finally land on her, and he can't help but stare at her. She's strong and she's independent, but she has a sweet tooth. The purple streak in her hair is a sign she doesn't give a damn about what people think about her – hell, her whole aura screamed it at him. She is dismissive, but he believes there's a soft spot inside of her that can be unlocked with the right person. He thinks of something else. If 'Ella' would work hard to get what she wants, this young woman sitting diagonally across him, she would fight for it, down to the last tooth and nail. She-

"You've been staring at me for the past seven minutes. You better have a good excuse."

He is startled out of his reverie as her voice cuts smoothly through his daydream, and he can't help but wince. "Seven minutes?"

She closes her laptop, eyes still trained on him, as she spits her gum out into a napkin and immediately reaches for a chocolate chip cookie. "Seven minutes. Give or take."

"I'm sorry-"

"This is going to be an interesting story, I can tell."

For some reason, it doesn't _look_ like she's pissed at him. In fact, if he would take a wild guess at her emotional status right now, he'd say she was amused. Borderlining on annoyed, but amused. He decides to tell her the truth. "I find you intriguing."

Her dark eyes focus on him, and narrow in suspicion. "Haven't heard that line before."

He blushes, and holds up his hands in surrender. "It's not – I'm not –" He sighs, and pinches the bridge of his nose. "I'm an author in a slump, and I'm character-searching." Tadashi waits for her reaction as she thoughtfully chews on her cookie.

"So…" She swallows. "You're suffering from _writer's block_." She says this as if she's heard it all before, as she raises an eyebrow in confirmation.

"Yes." He takes a long sip of coffee. "You sound like you can relate. Writer?"

She shakes her head. "Web designer. We suffer from designer blocks too, believe it or not." She pushes her plate towards him. "I heard sugar cures all ills."

He smiles briefly at her before taking a cookie. "Wasn't that supposed to be laughter? Thanks. I'm Tadashi, by the way."

"GoGo," she replies shortly, nodding in greeting before she opens her laptop again and starts typing away.

There's a brief silence where he decides to look out the window and go people-watching again, but for some reason, no one stands out to him. Everyone looks simple and plain. Everyone looks like they're not right for his story. He tries, he really does, but he can't get his head into it, and he has no idea why.

Until he notices her again, as she angrily deletes a few lines of code (he assumes), her right ring finger pressing down insistently on the backspace button. She is angry and her rage is as fiery as the sun. She is witty and intelligent, with a temper like a bubbling volcano. But this is because she is compassionate, because she is passionate and would protect people she cared about without a second thought. He writes furiously in his notebook, writing paragraphs of notes and descriptions of an intelligent young woman – a hacker with a heart. She's bad ass and she's harsh but she's so easy to fall in love with-

"I hope you're writing good things about me."

He jumps, as his pencil moves across the page. "Uhm… How… How could you tell?"

She smirks as she continues typing, her hands moving fast across the keyboard. "You started writing like there was no tomorrow after you stared at me – again, if I might add. Look, just don't make me too Mary Sue, okay?"

He laughs, and smiles at her, even though she's not looking at him. "You'll be perfect."

(*)

Merely four days later, Wasabi's eyes race across the paper as he drinks in the new chapters Tadashi's typed up with the new character. "Cat got your tongue?" Tadashi teases, as Wasabi starts grinning like a madman.

"She's amazing!" Wasabi exclaims happily. "I knew you could do it! Didn't I tell you? Didn't I?"

"Okay, okay, you're an amazing editor," Tadashi says with a smile, placating his friend.

"This is like, a complete change from those other characters!" Wasabi excitedly takes a sip of coffee. "You haven't just changed the character; you've changed the entire aura of the story. You. Have. Created. A. _Hermione_!"

Tadashi smiles at Wasabi. "A Hermione?"

"An intelligent female character that earns the love and respect of the readers over time!" Wasabi recites all too cheerfully. "A brilliant, genius character that the entire book couldn't do without! Well, it'd be different, but Hermiones just add a certain _life_ to a book." Wasabi watches his author friend chuckle, and can't help notice that there's something _different_ about Tadashi. "Hey. Where'd you get the idea for her, anyway?"

"Hm?"

"The idea." Wasabi smiles wryly. "I'm the one who taught you how to people watch for characters, remember?"

"No one in particular," Tadashi says innocently, shoving stray papers into his folder. "Just a girl, passing by. No one special. No one important."

" _Right_. Well, I won't keep you stuck here when you have so much re-writing to do," Wasabi folds his arms over his chest, a small, knowing smile on his face. "Go. Leave. Do your magic."

"You got it, captain!" Tadashi salutes Wasabi on his way out, simultaneously typing in a text on his phone. **Congratulations! You officially pass his standards.**

"Hey."

Tadashi looks at Wasabi over his shoulder, a sense of déjà vu washing over him. "Yeah?"

"You better introduce me to her!"

"To who?" He feigns innocence, trying to exit Wasabi's office without getting in/terrogated.

"To _Leiko_." Wasabi grins, satisfaction welling up in his chest at the blush currently blossoming over his friend's face. "She better not distract you!" he says, only teasing a _little_ bit.

"I can't hide anything from you, can't I?" Tadashi groans, feeling his phone vibrate in his pocket. "Fine, fine, when I've got everything down on paper, I'll introduce you." He exits Wasabi's office, hearing his friend burst out into laughter just as he closes the door, and reads the message from GoGo.

 **I guess you owe me a date, then.**

He smiles to himself. Well, he didn't exactly promise Wasabi he wouldn't be distracted.

(*)

 _But you already have an AU collection! The readers scream at me. Well, I just have sooooo many AU's I want done, and not just the normal 'the events of BH6 never happened' or the 'Tadashi never died' AU's I do normally, aka_ _ **Plans A-Z, Pancakes and Punches and Seven Days,**_ _among others. No, I wanted a place where I could put all those 'out of the ordinary' AU's. AU's like the barista and customer AU (_ _ **Yours**_ _), the wedding planner and bridesmaid AU (_ _ **Wedding Bells**_ _) and the soulmate AU (_ _ **Orange and Purple**_ _)._

 _I have so many ideas for these, so many prompts! So I decided to put them all here. In one collection._

 _What are your thoughts about this chapter? Trivia: Wasabi's advice for Tadashi is something a friend of mine told me:_ _ **You are magic.**_ _That goes out to everyone out there who's in a slump, writer or not. You are magic._

 _Feel free to prompt me; I'll try to do them, I promise! Just leave a review and I'll see what I can do._

 _xx, Sparky_


	2. Acceptance

_Thanks for all the support and love from last chapter! I currently have so many ideas for_ Ikigai _, I have no idea what to do with them all! So excited to finish 'em, though._

 _I decided to write this one because I needed to write a bit of angst; it's been too long since my last angst fic._

 _AU #002: A very sad AU. I'm sorry I just really needed to write this._

(*)

" _I have cancer."_

The words, even now, made Tadashi's breath hitch, and his heart hurt. He put the book he was reading on his bedside table, not finding the heart to finish it. He lay back in his bed, covered his eyes with his forearm, and tried to fight back the desolate, empty feeling that had been threatening to overcome him since earlier that afternoon. Was it April Fool's Day? He'd never forgive her, of course, but it would be better than her… _dying_. Tadashi looked in vain at his digital clock, which showed the date and time. _August 31. 02:29 AM._

" _The doctor says I don't have much time left."_

He remembered with sudden clarity the reactions of all of their friends. Fred's easy grin was suddenly wiped away, replaced with an uncharacteristic frown. He rarely saw Fred without his award-winning, easy-going grin. Honey Lemon had broken into tears, of course. She all but threw her huge red eyeglasses to the side as she tried in vain to wipe her tears away. Wasabi had just put a comforting arm around the brunette, his own eyes growing watery. Hiro had looked at her disbelievingly, his arms crossed over his chest. " _You're lying._ "

Tadashi had just walked away, unable to look her in the eye.

 _I should have known,_ he thought to himself, the anguish rolling off of him like a tsunami. _I should have realized she was sick – I'm her best friend – I should have tried to talk to her more_ – His mind kept on bringing up memories he shared with her that, out of context, were just simple memories. He remembered the time she had told him that she'd 'pass' on their morning bike ride, since she had 'too much homework' for that one class.

She never had too much homework; there was always time for a bike ride.

He remembered the whole gang racing to the Lucky Cat after making a bet that the last one to arrive would buy them all coffee. He remembered how she held back a bit, and looked pale and slightly out of breath as she got to the café. He remembered asking her if she was all right, and she had just waved a hand dismissively at him. " _PMS_."

He remembered taking down notes for her for a whole week, the idea being his own when she had said in passing that she was going to 'visit her grandma who lived the next state over'. He remembered her slightly shell-shocked face the week after, and he also remembered asking her what was wrong, but she refused to give him a straight answer. " _It's nothing. Just thinking about things._ "

He curled up on his side, overwhelmed with memories, feelings, laughter and smiles. He knew that Hiro was just on the other side of their bedroom divider, probably already fast asleep. He felt an unwanted rush of anger; it was _unfair_ that he was losing sleep over this. It was _unfair_ that someone precious to him was about to be wrenched from his hands. It was _unfair_ that she was dying - that _Leiko Tanaka_ , fast, deadly, and beautiful, was dying.

He refused to believe that life could be so cruel.

(*)

It hadn't been easy to sneak out of the house; while it was true that Hiro was already sleeping (and sleeping like a rock), Aunt Cass was in the middle of her own movie marathon. But as if fate was guiding him along with her gentle hands, Tadashi found himself in the cool breeze of the midnight, wishing he had brought a cardigan.

He knew the way to her apartment building from his like he knew the back of his hand. How many times had he visited her there, whether it was to do projects with her, or simply hang out to watch movies with? It was a blessing, then, that he was so familiar with the route – otherwise, it was certain that he would get lost, since his head was in the clouds.

 _I should have told her_ , he thought to himself, and not for the first time.

Tadashi didn't remember exactly _how_ or _when_ he had fallen in love with her. All he could remember was that one day, he had looked at her and seen an angel. It all went downhill from there for him, since he was frequently blown away by how beautiful she was, almost always trembling whenever their hands would accidentally touch, and found himself laughing at every witty, snarky, or funny remark she'd make.

In the span of three years, he had fallen in love with her, and fallen hard. She had started as an intimidating face during freshmen orientation, to a friend, to his best friend, and finally ended as someone he would gladly donate his heart to without any regrets. Tadashi would take a bullet for her, and it wasn't because he was nice, or because he was 'that kind of person' – it was because he loved her.

He finally reached her apartment building, but made no move to use the main entrance. GoGo lived alone, but now that she had… the unthinkable, Tadashi wasn't sure if her parents were staying over with her, or maybe even her brother. He wouldn't be surprised if Honey had decided to stay the night, either, but Tadashi didn't exactly care.

Tadashi made his way to the side of the building, where the fire exits were. He had only tried using this route up to her apartment once; GoGo had locked herself out of the apartment, and was too 'proud' to ask for the spare key. (At the time, she had also neglected to tell him that the key inside her apartment was _already_ the spare key, but it didn't matter.) After realizing she couldn't reach the pull-down ladder, she had called Tadashi, and the rest was history.

Tadashi only spent a few minutes staring up at the dark staircase that would eventually lead him to the girl who had stolen his heart, before he started climbing. With each rung, his heart grew heavier, and his palms got sweatier. He loved her, but would she care? What would he say? What would he do? Lord knew he practiced his 'confession' in front of the mirror more than a dozen times, but for some reason, his past feelings paled in comparison to what he was feeling now.

He would lose her. _He would never see her again._ He had no idea when it would happen; it could happen next week, next _month_ , or God forbid, in a few _hours_. And somehow, this was more terrifying than her not reciprocating his feelings. She would _disappear_. Forever. He knew that an empty void without her would be a thousand times worse than seeing her grow up and fall in love with someone else.

He reached the sixth floor, and he was out of breath, but for a completely different reason. He was here, and all he had to do was _knock_ but for some reason, he stood there, still, and unable to move. It all seemed too real for him. The despair, the denial, the anger, and sadness. He was consumed by it, swimming in it… Drowning in it.

He couldn't do it anymore. To talk to her would be to fully accept that she was dying. To confront her would mean that she really _was_ dying. If only he could blatantly lie to himself, and escape from reality, he would. Instead of walking towards the fire escape door, he sidetracked, and sat down on the cold metal steps. "I can't do this," he muttered, putting his face in his hands.

He was suddenly distracted by the sound of a door unlocking, and to his surprise, he found her poised in the door frame, dressed in a sweater and pajama bottoms that looked too big for her. "You knew I'd come?"

The corner of her mouth quirked up in the half-smile he loved. "I saw you come up. I wasn't exactly having a good night's sleep," she replied, nodding her head towards her bedroom window. "How are you?"

 _How dare she ask him that question_. He looked up at her from his seat on the steps, trying to read her emotions. She was guarding herself, and he felt his heart clench; she didn't need to hide anything from him. "I'm… _Awful_ ," he said hoarsely. He felt a bit of unwanted pleasure at the flash of guilt on her face. _Be guilty. You're putting me through hell._

Before he could complete that thought, though, he saw her briskly walk over to him and wrap her arms around him. Because he was seated, and she was standing, his head came to her shoulder, and she held him close to her, guiding him towards the crook of her neck. He breathed in her scent; a perfect blend of lavender and vanilla. He wrapped his own arms around her waist, holding her close.

He would give up anything, _anything_ at all, to be in this moment forever.

"You should have told me," he whispered against her skin, the tears threatening to spill from his eyes.

"I know," she replied, her hands tracing patterns on his shoulders.

"I could have done something about it – brought you to your appointments," he said, as his heart broke for her.

"I know you would have," she whispered back, and he could tell from the tightness in her voice that she was about to cry, too.

They were quiet, clutching at each other desperately as if they were lost at sea together. He could hear her heart, dully beating somewhere lower than where his head was resting. She could feel his thoughts racing, as she pressed her cheek to the top of his head.

"I love you," he finally said, breaking away, and looking up at her with a desperation that he had never felt before. The moonlight shone on her, and it scared him, because it made her seem like a ghost. _No, no, no,_ he thought, unconsciously tightening his grip on her waist.

She leaned forward, and pressed her lips to his forehead. He felt something else on his forehead, and he realized that her tears were now falling freely down her face. "I know," she said, her voice barely audible, even in the silence. "I do, too."

He held her in his arms as the hours ticking by, holding onto her as tight as he could. As they whispered sweet nothings and told each other things they never would have dreamed they'd be able to say before, Tadashi finally found acceptance in one thing.

 _Life really was cruel._

(*)

 _Oh. Oh, no. Oh my god. That was awful. Horrible. My heart is wrenching itself into pieces._

 _Inspiration for this ficlet was Sam Smith's 'Lay Me Down'… Damn, these men and their emotional sides. They'll be the end of us all._

 _I just wanted a fic that explored_ Tadashi's _emotional side – Lord knows that everyone's done something like that on GoGo (not a bad thing, though – heck, I've done it once or five million times.). It occurred to me that GoGo can't always be the depressed one. So here it is. An emotional Tadashi._

 _Feel free to point out any spelling/grammatical errors I may have. I was just an emotional wreck throughout the whole thing._

 _See you next chapter!_

 _PS – Feel free to leave some prompts! I'll try my best to do 'em._


	3. Operation: Seduction

_Disclaimer: The idea for this came from a Tumblr post my friend ayinvui found on Tumblr by users_ _halleydoedog_ _and_ _otpmusings_ _. While this isn't completely an AU, I thought it would fit right into its niche here: Just some good old Tomadashi fun._

 _Disclaimer [2]: I'd like to think that San Fransokyo has much more to offer than your standard laser tag arena. Keep your mind open, and let your imagination reach the sky for this one._

 _Disclaimer [3]: This was originally supposed to be posted on Valentine's Day, but as you can see, I kind of missed that deadline. Just roll with it, yeah? :P_

 _AU #003: Just some casual fun in the middle of a battlefield. Well, to be more specific, the middle of a laser tag arena. All's fair in love and war, right?_

 _Special Note: Thank you, JungleAllTheWay for pointing out that I had failed to remove a different version of the same paragraph xD This is what I get for not re-reading this. Thanks!_

(*)

She jumped over a knee-high wall, and ducked just in time, cursing under her breath as she realized how careless she was being. "I'm going to get you for that, Fred!" she yelled from behind the safety of her wall. The blond's response was merely a cackle as she heard him walk away, presumably to find another victim. GoGo sighed, and decided to lie low while she caught her breath.

It was tradition that the entire gang would do some kind of group activity to celebrate their single lives whenever Valentine's Day rolled around. The rules were simple; if you had a date on the day, you didn't go. If you _didn't_ have a date, you wallowed in some sort of fun activity with the rest of the lonely souls. The 'gang' of course, meant Tadashi, Hiro, GoGo, Wasabi, Fred and Honey – and only Honey and Wasabi had ever missed a Valentine's Day 'Friends Only' activity.

Today, the entire team was complete. Wasabi was now a single man, and Honey was still obviously grieving and heartbroken. (As evidenced by the shooting at random obstacles and poles) Everyone else was enjoying the laser tag group date, however, and Honey was close to cracking a smile.

The gang was currently at Fred's privately-owned laser tag arena ("Dad's cool about letting me buy stuff like that," he said), with Heathcliff acting as Game Master. They had split into two teams; Wasabi, Hiro and GoGo vs. Honey, Tadashi and Fred. Instead of the typical 'earn points to win the war' system, the six of them had decided on sudden death. It was a simple 'get hit three times and you're out' game, and so far, everyone had been hit twice. Friendships were literally on the line here, and it was getting pretty intense.

GoGo tightened her grip on the laser tag pistol. She needed to keep on moving – Fred already knew where she was, which was definitely a huge disadvantage. Luckily she was small, and could get away with creeping away and simply disappearing. She crouched down low and started to move, pausing every few seconds behind poles and walls. Suddenly, she heard someone swear somewhere to her left, and she frowned. _Hiro_. Had he been hit?

"You can't see anything in this light," Hiro complained loudly, and GoGo stifled the urge to find him and shoot him herself. _Don't draw attention to yourself, idiot!_

"Aww, isn't that _sad_ , little bro?" Her ears pricked up at the sound of Tadashi's voice. She could practically _see_ the slow, content smile on the older Hamada's face, and she felt her face heat up. _This is not the time, Tanaka._ She needed to at least shoot Tadashi, or cover for Hiro in case either Honey or Fred were hanging around. She pressed herself against a wall, the dull blue lights flashing on her vest too bright for her liking.

"Come on, Tadashi. Show yourself. _Be a man_ ," Hiro taunted. GoGo rolled her eyes.

"No, I actually like my position right now. I can see the two of you _perfectly_."

GoGo froze, and immediately did a complete turn, her finger on the trigger. Was he talking about her? Or Wasabi?

"No need to go all Captain America on us, Tadashi." Wasabi's voice came from further on her left, where she had pegged Hiro to be. She let out a sigh of relief and sagged against the wall, keeping her pistol close to her chest. She was now her team's only hope right now.

"Are you trying to stall us, Wasabi?" Fred's voice echoed from around her, and GoGo froze again. It looked like everyone was clustered around the same spot. While she still had to hear _anything_ from Honey, she guessed that there was a high possibility that everyone was merely a few feet away from her, but because of the wide space, it was pretty hard to pinpoint _where_.

"Ah, so we're going for a shoot-out?" Hiro quipped.

"If it comes to that point, then… may the best man win."

GoGo frowned. Honey was still unaccounted for, then – she would have surely made some kind of quip like, ' _or woman_ ' to add to Fred's earlier statement. But how could anyone miss Honey, when she stood out like a… "Beanpole." GoGo exhaled sharply as her vision zeroed in on a tall post almost four feet away from her, and wondered why she hadn't noticed the blinking red lights when Honey had been hiding in plain sight.

She held up her gun to aim, just as Honey whipped around from behind the pole and aimed her gun back at the shorter female. They were having a Mexican stand-off of their own as each of them sized the other up. GoGo would shoot if she wanted to, but she knew that Honey had lightning-quick reflexes and would easily take her down with her. GoGo slightly applied pressure down on the trigger, ready to make the sacrifice, until…

" _Wasabi_!"

Honey flinched, distracted, and GoGo took the chance to shoot Honey in the chest and then duck for cover as she hid behind one of the large pillars.

"Master Wasabi from the Blue Team is out of the game, taken out by Master Fred." Heathcliff's accented voice filled the arena over a PA system. "Miss Honey Lemon is out of the game, also, taken out by Miss GoGo. Please proceed to the nearest exit. The remaining players must not move from their spots until both players have exited the arena."

GoGo breathed a sigh of relief and leaned back against the pillar in relief. She and Hiro still had a chance to make it – but Fred and Tadashi were _really_ good shots and she's pretty sure that if it came to a shoot-out, neither of them would hesitate to pull the trigger first. She bit her bottom lip, lost in thought. She needed to talk to Hiro, and form some sort of plan.

"Red Team, Blue Team, Master Wasabi and Miss Honey Lemon have exited the arena. You will be given three and a half minutes to discuss your next plan at home base. The timer starts once both of you are inside your base."

(*)

Honey and Wasabi entered the Game Master's den, where Heathcliff was manning a control panel, with ten CCTV camera screens showing different areas of the arena. "Good game, sir and madam," Heathclif said as a greeting. "I will get your refreshments and return in a few minutes."

"Thanks, Heathcliff! Whew!" Honey wiped her brow with the back of her hand, lying down on the couch, face-up. "Talk about _intense_."

Wasabi stretched out his arms and back, grimacing. "It's so hard to keep crouching down when you're so big!" he complained. "And everyone gets so serious whenever we enter the arena, it's just _crazy_."

Honey laughed as Heathcliff returned with cold drinks and mini club sandwiches. "Thanks, Heathcliff!" she chirped, and immediately took a large sip of Coke. "It's fun, though. Therapeutic, even I highly recommend that we all do this whenever one of us gets dumped."

(*)

"Okay. We need a plan quick," Hiro said immediately, once both of them were both in the safety of their base. "Good job taking out Honey, by the way."

"I might have gone instead, if she hadn't gotten distracted by Wasabi going down," she muttered, leaning against the wall. "This is going to be hard."

"We need to take out Tadashi," Hiro sighed. "If we eliminate Tadashi, Fred will go bonkers without him."

GoGo nodded. "Hamada's the linchpin."

(*)

"Dude. GoGo's a mean shot. We need her _out_. Then we surround Hiro. Then game over. No offense, Tadashi, but your brother doesn't stand a chance against the two of us." Fred had an easy grin on his face. "We got this."

Tadashi frowned. "How do we get GoGo? No one can sneak up on her." He shook his head.

"You need to distract her," Fred insisted. He smiled slowly, and Tadashi couldn't help but feel a bit anxious at the look on his friend's face. "And I think you know how to distract her."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"You're going to _seduce_ her."

(*)

Honey, Wasabi and Heathcliff watched the teams convene, and Honey burst out into loud peals of laughter upon hearing Fred's suggestion. "Tadashi? _Seduce_ anyone? Especially _GoGo_?"

"This is something I _have_ to see," Wasabi chuckled, shaking his head.

"It would be entertaining to see Master Tadashi try and…" Heathcliff coughed, uncomfortably. "… _distract_ Mistress GoGo," the butler finished reluctantly.

(*)

The alarm rang, signaling the end of three and a half minutes. GoGo nodded briefly at Hiro, holding out a clenched fist. "Let's do this." Hiro bumped her fist with his own, a huge grin on his face.

"For _bragging rights!_ "

"For bragging rights."

The minute the two of them stepped out of the base, they split up – GoGo moved towards the left of the arena, Hiro on the right. Unbeknownst to them, Fred and Tadashi were doing the complete opposite, making a beeline for the center of the arena together. As they reached the center, Fred saluted his teammate, and walked away. Tadashi steeled himself, readying himself for the task ahead of him.

GoGo stopped walking abruptly and listened for footsteps. She knew the sound of Tadashi's footsteps better than she'd like to admit, although she'd never say it out loud. GoGo hugged a corner and closed her eyes, listening carefully to the sounds around her. The heavy, careless footsteps were Fred's, she thought. The faint, fast-moving footsteps were most likely Hiro's. Then she heard slow, steady footsteps, and she smiled faintly to herself. _There_. She and Hiro had guessed earlier that since Tadashi was the better shot, he'd be the one to stalk down GoGo.

She'd turn this whole thing around, that's for sure.

GoGo turned in the opposite direction, retracing her steps while listening to Tadashi's footsteps. As suspected, she heard him follow closely behind, but he was still not close enough for her to just whirl around and shoot him. She finally reached her destination – a corner neatly hidden by foam blocks, and she tucked herself in, waiting for him to pass by.

He did so about ten seconds later, red lights blinking ominously, unaware of the young woman hidden safely behind the blocks. Once he was three feet in front of her, GoGo decided to make her move. Careful not to make any noise, GoGo rose from her hiding place, and aimed her gun at Tadashi's back.

(*)

" _She's right behind you!_ " Honey screamed from the control panel, nearly biting off her own fingernails. In order to take her mind off of her nasty habit, she dug her hands into Heathcliff's shoulders instead, shaking him lightly. "Tadashi, _turn around_!"

Heathcliff let himself get manhandled by the taller female, a small smile on his face. "He cannot hear you, madam."

"I know, but it makes me feel better," Honey explained.

(*)

Tadashi turned around, and smiled innocently at GoGo, who froze. Caught like a deer in the headlights, GoGo kept her gun trained on him, standing firm. "Thought you could sneak up on me, hm?" He brought his own gun up and aimed at her, his finger on the trigger.

 _This is weird_ , GoGo mused, and took one step backward. His voice is lower, his smile is much more controlled, and there's something _different_ about the way he's looking at her. Or is it just the lights? Yes, that had to be it. She could barely make out those specific details on his face, so she chalked it up to that. "Thought it was worth a shot," she quipped, taking another step back.

To her horror, he took another two steps forward, starting to close the distance between them.

"Fred and I are going to bring home the bacon," he said casually, his eyes still locked straight on hers. "Once you're out of the picture, then I'll go and take care of my little brother."

Her knuckles whiten as she gripped the pistol tighter. "Over my dead body." She took another step back, and flinched when she felt the sturdy pillar behind her.

He chuckled, and took another step forward. "You've always been a little bit overdramatic," he said, his voice low.

He was towering over her, and GoGo never hated her short stature more than _now_. Why isn't anyone shooting at anyone? Why is there a palpable tension in between the two of them, why is she suddenly nervous, why is the look in his eyes faltering, turning into something _real_ and utterly _terrifying_? "Says the guy who's totally pulling a Flynn Rider on me," she muttered, meeting his eyes.

Tadashi laughed. "Should I smolder?"

Something changes, then, and it's clear in his eyes, in the dark eyes that GoGo can read so _easily_. He's trying to tell her something, but she can't exactly say _what_. He lifted one arm and leaned it against the pillar, bringing the two of them even closer together. "You can smolder all you want, but you're _never_ getting the upper hand," she said lowly, her eyes flashing with mirth.

Before she could grasp the consequences of her actions, GoGo reached up, placing her hand on the side of Tadashi's face. She felt him unconsciously lean into her touch, and the small movement was enough to spur her forward. She tugged his face down to her level, and kissed him firmly on the mouth, the other hand still clutching the pistol tightly.

(*)

For some reason, it had escaped their ears when Hiro and Fred had shot the other simultaneously, taking the other out of the game. Heathcliff had announced it, of course, but Tadashi and GoGo were way too busy staring at each other to hear the announcement.

This meant, of course, that the entire gang was watching the exchange from the Game Master's den, and with very different expressions on their face. Hiro's jaw dropped open, shocked to see his brother receiving such a passionate kiss. Fred was chuckling madly, thinking that he was a genius for instigating the plan in the first place. Honey was squealing loudly, jumping up and down as she pinched Wasabi's side. Wasabi was almost as shocked as Hiro was, but there was a small hint of a smile on his face. Even Heathcliff didn't have the decency to look away, and was even taking a bite from one of the mini club sandwiches.

(*)

Tadashi's eyes flickered shut after a brief moment of surprise, and he used his other hand to box her in, caging her within his arms. She was so _small_ , he thought to himself, reveling in her touch, her warmth, her taste. He had no idea that his plans of 'seducing' GoGo would end up like this, which was pretty much one of his wildest secret fantasies – kissing the smaller woman against the wall.

Just as sudden as she had started the kiss, she just as abruptly ended it, her eyes wide open. Both of them stared at each other, gauging the other's expression, and unsure of what to do next. So GoGo did the first thing that came to her.

She shot him point-blank in the chest.

There was an uncomfortable silence, and then Heathcliff's voice echoed throughout the arena. "Uhm…" he coughed. "Miss Tanaka's team wins."

Tadashi chuckled, and leaned his forehead against GoGo's. "No, Heathcliff… I'm feeling pretty much like a winner right now."

And after another uncomfortable silence, she smiled.

(*)

 _AGH. THESE TWO. I WILL DIE._

 _I have no other words to say – I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing this! Daaaaamn, everyone was so tense during this game. You know how friendships end over games like Uno and MarioKart? Yeah, this is exactly what I had in mind._

 _Feel free to leave your remarks and any grammatical or spelling errors you might find._


	4. Cassiopeia

_AU #004: In which Tadashi is smitten with a woman in a little black dress, who, as he finds out, is taken terribly for granted._

(*)

"She's been waiting an awfully long time."

Fred rolled his eyes, and rolled up the sleeve of his uniform. "You keep saying that and yet, whenever I offer to switch tables for you so that you can keep refilling her glass, you say no." Fred and his friend, Tadashi, were both waiters at one of the best five-star restaurants in the city – _Cassiopeia_. Tadashi's aunt owned the said restaurant, and had gotten the two boys part-time jobs at the establishment. _Cassiopeia_ an unspoken rule that people who ate there were required to dress their best – and the young woman in the black dress Tadashi had been eyeing for the past hour was no exception to the rule.

Tadashi Hamada sighed deeply, and looked again, (quite pathetically, in Fred's eyes) at the young woman sitting alone at a table that was near the window. It was true; she _had_ been waiting for a long time. Fred had been refilling her glass of service water for the past hour or so, and looked like her date wasn't going to show up tonight. "She just looks so… _sad_."

Fred shook his head. "Nah, man. She looks pissed." Both of them glanced at the girl, gauging her expression. She was playing with the silverware, tilting them one way or the other, and handling the knife with an unnerving ease. "Pissed." Fred nodded firmly.

"I wonder why she's waiting for him?" Tadashi wondered. "I mean, we know girls. What would Honey do if she were in this situation?"

The blond smirked. "She'd be in the taxi on her way home by now."

"Exactly. So why does she wait?" The taller male frowned, crossing his arms over his chest. In all honesty, she had his attention the minute she walked through the door. She was short – Tadashi guessed that she only came up to his shoulder – but the way she entered the room made _everyone_ look at her. She commanded presence, what with her tousled dark hair and purple streaks, the black dress that clung to her curvy figure, and left little to the imagination, and the way she walked, she just… She left Tadashi breathless.

"Are we really going to do this again?" Fred shoved the pitcher of water into Tadashi's hands, a few drops spilling over the sides. "Go. And. Talk. Her. Up."

"But that's not – I'm not even assigned to table six," Tadashi protested, struggling against Fred. "My shift is over in fifteen minutes!"

Fred waved his hands dismissively. "As of this moment, I am going on a bathroom break, and you're covering for me, and – would you look at that, her glass is empty! _Go forth and bless her with water._ " He wiggled his eyebrows playfully, and Tadashi just rolled his eyes.

He walked over to table six, careful not to trip or bump into anything, and finally reached the table side. She was idly running a finger over the rim of her glass, looking bored, among anything else. Tadashi cleared his throat, trying not to get distracted by the faint lipstick mark on her glass. "Good evening. Let me refill this for you," he said, smiling warmly at her.

She looked up at him, her dark eyes boring into his own, as she held out her glass. "Huh. Where's the blond?"

Tadashi gulped; her voice was deep, husky, _throaty_ … He hadn't expected it to sound like that, not really. "A-Ahm. Bathroom break." She shrugged, and waited for him to refill her glass. "Should I get you a menu?" he asked.

She sighed, and her eyes dropped down to the table. "It's okay. I… I'll wait for my boyfriend."

Now a bit deterred (because of _course_ she was unwaveringly loyal) Tadashi nodded, albeit a bit sadly. "All right, then. If you're sure…" He gave her a small smile, and backed away from the table, knowing that he should be proud of the fact that at least he had _tried_.

Her next sentence, said under her breath, made him stop in his tracks, though. "I'm used to it, anyway."

He whirled around, eyes blazing, and he retraced his steps back to her table. "You're… you're _used_ to it? Why?"

Her eyes widened slightly in surprise as she put her glass down, studying him. "He's busy. Who am I to force him to be here when he's obviously stuck up at work?" She shrugged, wiping her palms on the white table cloth. "He loves me." Maybe it was the way she said it, as if she was trying to convince herself, as well as the stranger who was serving her water, but Tadashi wasn't buying it.

Tadashi shook his head, a rare kind of insistence possessing him. "If he _really_ loved you he wouldn't be making you wait for two hours in a _five-star restaurant_. If he _loved_ you he'd be here right now, and I'd be serving you entrées!" Her mouth dropped open in shock, and Tadashi couldn't blame her for it.

He was surprising himself, but this was a topic that just set him ablaze with emotions. He knew what it was like to be taken for granted, and to know that this _beautiful_ girl in the black dress was feeling the same way _he_ was? _Inconceivable_.

"He's… he's busy with work, like I said." she said softly, but Tadashi was already shaking his head.

"If he was busy with work, he wouldn't have made the reservations for seven o'clock," he insisted. She looked down at the table, silent and stoic. He knew he should have stopped there, but he couldn't. The chivalrous knight inside of him screamed with anger, and he added three more words to the already devastating blow he had given her. "You deserve _better_."

She was silent, an unreadable expression on her face. Tadashi realized that he had crossed the line of professionalism a few minutes ago, but before he could apologize for what he had said, he felt a sharp pinch in his arm. Wincing, he looked to his side to see his Aunt Cass frowning deeply at him. "Tadashi. You're not assigned to this table, and you're causing a scene. Apologize to her."

Tadashi turned a dark shade of red, suddenly aware of the eyes he had attracted. (Including Fred's) He scratched the back of his head sheepishly, not having the courage to look her straight in the eyes. "I stepped out of line. I'm sorry."

She still seemed a bit speechless, her eyebrows furrowing in the middle of her forehead. She looked like she wasn't sure if he was pulling her leg or not, or if she should hit him, or scream, or at least do _something_. Thankfully, she just nodded. "It's not a problem," she finally said, her eyes not leaving his.

"I'm so sorry, dear," Aunt Cass said, biting her bottom lip. "This won't happen again. I'll send your server to you once you're ready to order." Cass waited until her customer nodded again, and then she pulled Tadashi back to his post at the back room. "You are in _so_ much trouble, young man," Cass started to say, her job as a surrogate mother taking over. "You're _lucky_ your shift is over by now, or I would have forced you to take an early day off."

"I'm sorry, Aunt Cass," Tadashi said, rubbing his hands over his face. "It just got to me, you know?"

"I am _not_ in the mood for this, Tadashi," Aunt Cass said sternly. "I know you have some kind of hero complex; heck, I think you'd run into a burning building to save someone that obviously couldn't be saved, but you've got to reign it in sometimes, okay?" Her shoulders sagged, and Tadashi tentatively gave his aunt a soft pat on the shoulder.

"It won't happen again, Aunt Cass."

"It better not, mister!" She said firmly, and pointed at the back door. "Now you get your butt home before I start stress-eating over your antics," Cass pouted, hands on her hips. "I mean it, Tadashi, _do not do that again._ "

"Got it," Tadashi said, and scurried out of the door, not bothering to change out of his uniform.

The cool evening air hit his face and he sighed, wiping the sheen of sweat that had suddenly enveloped over his forehead with the back of his hand. He really didn't know what had just come over him. _A hero's complex_ , he mused, thinking about Aunt Cass's words. That wasn't it, was it? He sighed, and continued to walk down the street.

"Wait!"

He paused; the voice was _hers_. Even after mere minutes of talking to her, he could place it anywhere. _Damn it, he was whipped_. Tadashi turned around to see her storming down the sidewalk, hands crossed over her chest. It pleased him a little to see that her shoes were heeled, which meant that she was about an inch shorter than he had guessed earlier. (He had a thing for shorter girls) He just hoped that she wasn't there to yell at him.

She finally reached him, a little bit out of breath. He realized that she had her bag with her, which meant that firstly, she probably wasn't going to return to the restaurant, and secondly, his aunt was going to kill him. "I… Thank you." Tadashi's eyebrows rose in surprise. He hadn't been expecting _that_. "Look, it's just that I needed someone to tell me that, you know?" She shuffled her feet, clearly uncomfortable. "It's not the first time he's done this. And before you go on another tirade," she said quickly, once she saw him open his mouth, "I understand now that I was… maybe just a little bit more than stupid."

Tadashi frowned, and shook his head. "I wasn't implying that you _were_ , I just wanted to make you realize that you don't need someone who's _that_ inconsiderate."

She sighed, and finally gave him a small, grateful smile. "I know. That's why I wanted you to be here when I did this." He watched her as she reached into her bag and pull out her phone, even _more_ confused as he saw her hurriedly type in a number she obviously knew by heart, and put it on speakerphone.

After a few rings, someone answered the phone. "Yeah, babe, I'm here."

She rolled her eyes. "Hey, _Matt_ ," she said viciously into the phone. Tadashi recoiled a bit at her tone. "How are you, _babe_?"

"Oh, come on, Leiko, what's with the tone?" Matt groaned. Tadashi blinked in surprise, finally knowing her name. _Leiko_.

"You've got to be kidding me," she said under her breath. "Have you been living under a rock? Without any cell service? Or have you been _deliberately_ ignoring my texts?"

"Oh shit," the douchebag said on the other line, sounding like he was hurriedly getting up from somewhere. "I forgot. I forgot, I'm sorry, I love you, just hang in there, angel face. I am just about to stand up and drive to _Cassiopeia_."

"Forget about it," Leiko hissed into the phone. "You know what? I've had just about enough of you, and you always conveniently forgetting about dates, and making me look like a complete idiot in front of everyone. I dressed _up_ for this date, and you know how much I _hate_ dressing up for _anything_ and yet, I did it, and even put on a bit of make up _just. For. You._ "

"All right, love boat, I'm really sorry. I'm _so_ sorry. I'll make up for it, I swear. How about tomorrow night? We can go upstate and-"

"Don't you get it?" she said sharply, and visibly braced herself for the next statement. "I've had enough. This is done. I can't deal with this anymore."

"Are… are you breaking up with me?"

"I want your things out of my place by tomorrow. Leave your spare key with my landlady. I won't be in my apartment tomorrow from ten in the morning until seven PM. I'm giving you until then."

"Wait, Leiko-"

"Bye, Matt," Leiko said, and ended the call. There was a long, pregnant silence, where Tadashi just stared at her in shock, and Leiko looked at her phone, as if she didn't believe what she had just done.

He hadn't exactly expected her to just end it just like _that_. "You broke up with him."

"Yep." Leiko sighed heavily, and stood up a bit straighter, as if a huge weight had been lifted from her shoulder. "He had it coming for a while."

"Did he _seriously_ just call you 'love boat' or did I dream that part?"

She chuckled, and Tadashi blushed at the unfamiliar, yet welcome, sound. "I know, that made me wince, too." There was another long silence, which Leiko broke. "I meant it, you know. Thanks."

"I didn't really mean for you to just break up with him, but it's no problem. I guess." A thought came to him. "You don't seem _that_ upset."

"I'm not the kind of girl who bursts into tears in front of a stranger," she said. "If it makes you feel better, know that I'm going to be crying about this later." Leiko smirked at him, and put her phone back in her bag. "By the way, I left you a hundred-dollar tip, _and_ paid for the time I spent in the restaurant. You know. So you don't get in anymore trouble with your boss."

He felt faint. _A hundred dollars_? "What?"

She shook her head, holding up a hand. "No take backs. You were an angel in disguise," she said, and gave him another brief, small smile. "Now I just have to bounce back from this."

"… A hundred dollars?"

Leiko reached up and patted him on the shoulder. "There, there." He still looked a bit shell-shocked, and she couldn't help but chuckle. _He's kind of cute._ She raised a hand to flag down a taxi, and nudged him a bit with her elbow. "Again. Thanks."

"You're… welcome," he choked out slowly, a million sentences going through his head. _No,_ you're _an angel in disguise. This means I'm going to have to pay you back, you know. No, you idiot! She just broke up with her boyfriend – don't be an idiot, she's still grieving_!

She shook her head at his discomfort, smiling a little to herself as she started getting into the taxi. "I don't think this will be the last time we see each other. Until then, Tadashi."

His mind didn't register how _sweet_ his name sounded from her mouth until the taxi had already left him alone on the sidewalk.

(*)

 _One of my clumsier works, but I swear, I have so much on my plate, and I just needed to cart out_ some _kind of idea or ficlet to keep my mind from collapsing in on itself. This ended up a bit differently than I had pictured out in my mind, but I'm still slightly mollified by it. I toyed with the idea of either Tadashi asking her out on a date, or Gogo leaving her number with him at the end or something, but I was uncomfortable with the idea that Tadashi would appear as a 'rebound' for GoGo._

 _There will most likely be a second part to this; Tadashi won't be comfortable with the hundred-dollar tip, and we still have to see GoGo; rather, Leiko, move on from Matt. Fun fact: I got the name Matt from the character Daniel Henney plays on Criminal Minds: Beyond Borders, Matt Simmons!_

 _Again, it would mean so much if you guys tell me about any errors I might have in this new chapter of Ikigai._ _Reviews make the heart grow fonder!_


	5. Fourteenth

_AU #005: In which he is a RomCom King, and she is the Stunt Queen._

(*)

The sound of heavy metal doors opening reverberated around the floors above her, and startled her out of her silence. The implication of the sounds hit her, and she turned towards her partner, her anger simmering like a volcano about to erupt. "What. Did. You. _Do_."

He held his hands up, hoping to pacify her, and failing horribly. "I might have called in a few reinforcements-"

" _What_?" she hissed, whipping her head around to face him. She advanced quickly, her emotions and anger billowing out of her like storm clouds, and she stepped closer to her. "What do you think I am, a _child_?"

His eyes narrowed. "Hey. You're the newbie here. This is an important job. This is _not_ the time for you to have your ego act up, because if we mess this up, you could cost us _everything._ " He leaned down a little bit, meeting her level.

She met his gaze with equal fire. "I am never going to be able to learn what _exactly_ you want me to do if you don't stop handling me with kid gloves!"

"Stand down, and I'll give you another chance in the future."

She scoffed. "Bite me."

"I'm not going to say it again. _Stand down._ "

One corner of her mouth curled up in a sneer. "Make me."

Their faces were too close, now. Without thinking of the consequences of his actions, he reached out a hand and tilted her head up a little, so that her lips could meet his.

" _Cut! Cut, cut, cut, cut, cut_!"

They broke apart, and this time, Tadashi could tell that the irritation in his co-star's eyes was very much real, and he winced. _Way to make a good impression, Hamada_. He sighed, and gave her an apologetic look before looking at their director, Alistair Krei.

Krei looked like he was barely trying to hold himself together. "Tadashi, we've been through this _too many times_. This is _not_ one of your rom-coms, Tadashi, this is an action-packed drama. Forget the genre, the essence of your character is _not_ some knight in shining armor, your character is a mercenary who needs the money to take care of his younger brother. You don't have time to kiss her gently. _Follow the script_ and take her in your arms, kiss her with _passion_ and _intensity_ and _want_."

GoGo sighed, and leaned against the wall while she waited for their director to finish his tirade. They had been doing so well up until this part, too. Tadashi Hamada, Rom-Com King, was known for his roles in romantic comedies, and this film would be his first action film. He had been doing great so far, his action scenes were believable and smooth (not to mention that his muscles actually _rippled_ ), and he hadn't flubbed any of his lines so far. You'd think that a Rom-Com King would have a kiss scene down pat, which proved to be the opposite in this case. He was just too _gentle_. However, she was slightly ashamed to admit that she liked it when he messed up. Tadashi Hamada was a _damn_ good kisser, even if it _was_ causing them to fall behind schedule.

She, however, was strictly an action actress. GoGo Tomago was the stunt double turned actress, a dark horse who had risen to the occasion after taking over for someone she was doubling for. While this was a first for her to actually be the lead female protagonist, she was already familiar with the pacing action films needed be filmed. Having worked with Krei in three films previous to this one, she knew _one_ thing about this director. There was no time for amateur mistakes.

"All right, everyone, let's just…" Krei sighed. "Take a twenty-minute break. Hopefully Tadashi's gotten his head into the game by then. Disperse. All of you. Ah, except you, GoGo. Let's talk a minute."

Tadashi rubbed his temples, sighing. He turned to GoGo, to see if he could wrangle a few tips or at least, conversation from her, but she was already heading towards Krei without a second glance. He sighed again, and turned in the opposite direction, heading for his trailer.

He honestly wondered if he had made a mistake, deciding to follow his agent's advice and 'expand his horizons'. It was true; action films were an entirely different ballpark. And for him, someone who had relied on his 'pretty' face and the way his eyes seemed to show just the right amount of emotion, it was hard to keep his acting in check.

 _Especially_ when he had an eye for his co-star.

Tadashi groaned. He had always been a fan of GoGo Tomago. Ever since he had seen _Red Rising_ , her breakout film, he had been a fan. Whenever they met, for whatever the occasion, she always managed to leave him feeling dazed and confused. He'd never admit it out loud, but working with her was his biggest challenge yet, only because he was determined not to make a fool of himself in front of the Stunt Queen.

It would be just like him to mess up an action sequence by tripping on a crack on the sidewalk.

Tadashi closed the door to his trailer, and pulled out his phone, dialing a number he knew by heart. "You called, bro?" His younger brother, Hiro, answered on the first ring.

Tadashi smiled. "Are you _that_ bored?"

"I'm uninspired, dude. Got nothing. You called _just_ when I needed a fix. What's up?" Hiro was an animation student, and Tadashi knew that he was in the middle of one of his final projects. For him to have even answered the phone was lucky.

"I'm messing up _everything_ ," Tadashi groaned, slumping into a chair.

Tadashi could practically see Hiro rolling his eyes. "Didn't we just talk yesterday about you nailing that action scene? Where's the lie, Tadashi?"

"We're filming the kissing scene today, and I'm just – I'm like a fish out of water."

"You've _got_ to be kidding me," Hiro muttered. " _You_? Recipient of the Teens Choice Award for Best Onscreen Kiss for the past two years? Messing up a _kissing_ scene?"

Tadashi pouted. "This is different. It's _action_. Not a tear jerking drama, not a comedy. I have to be brusque and heated, angry and passionate."

Hiro was silent. "Well… now that you put it that way..."

"See what I mean? I don't know how to be brusque, heated, or angry. All I got is _passionate_. And that's not even supposed to be the main feeling, I just – _agh_." Tadashi leaned against the wall. "I'm finished here. They might as well call in Wasabi to lead."

A knock at his door prevented him from hearing Hiro's reply. "Wait. Someone's here. I'll call you later."

"Just _kiss_ the girl!" Hiro called out, before hanging up.

Tadashi opened the door, and was surprised to see GoGo looking up at him expectantly. "Oh. Hi."

"Am I interrupting anything?" she asked wryly. "Or are you going to let me in?"

Still a bit in shock, Tadashi nodded. "Yeah. Sure. I mean, no. You aren't interrupting anything, and yes, please come in?"

GoGo couldn't help but smile to herself as she stepped inside his trailer. _Adorable little dork._ "All right, I'm just going to jump right into it. Krei wanted me to talk to you. Knock some sense into that head of yours, give advice, whatever."

"Oh." He sheepishly ran a hand through his hair. "Yeah, I thought it would be that."

She crossed her arms. "All right, Hamada, so let's go through these one at a time. Is it me? Or you? Or are you just a bit in over your head?"

"It's not you!" He assured her, holding up both of his hands.

She smirked. "Thanks for soothing my greatest fears."

"Look, it's just… I don't… I can't kiss rough." Tadashi admitted, turning a light pink.

GoGo's eyes widened slightly in surprise. Well. _That_ was easier to get out of him then she thought it would be. "Huh."

"It's just I've never really had to kiss anyone roughly," he explained, fidgeting with his hands. "Always really cute, just passionate kisses. That's what I do. Not hard, up-against-the-wall, hot and heavy mouth wars."

"Wait, so you've never kissed anyone outside of work before?" She couldn't be sure, but from the way he just phrased those sentences, it seemed like he hadn't. "Because that sounded like…"

"I kissed one girl, okay, it was in college, it was a disaster, I got a bloody nose, and we both got doused in street water," he shot back testily, crossing his arms against his chest. "So no, I've never kissed anybody outside of work before after that moment." He waited for her to laugh, or judge him, and was surprised when she didn't.

"Suits me. We may be actors and actresses, but in the end, we're all human. Nothing wrong with that," she said dismissively. He sighed audibly, looking grateful, and she couldn't help but smile. "Well, I'm not exactly a pro at 'hot and heavy mouth wars', as you so delicately put it," she teased, watching him blush again. "But I know how it's done. And I guess I can… help you."

"Wait, are you saying-"

"Yep." GoGo fought back a blush of her own. _Quit it. Be professional, calm, cool and collected. It's for the good of the movie._ "We have…" She checked her wristwatch. "We have ten minutes left of Krei's break. That's more than enough time. Let's practice kissing."

"Um. Okay," Tadashi replied shortly, still trying to wrap his head around the fact that _GoGo Tomago_ was offering to help him practice the art of (mouth) wars, alone and in the privacy of his trailer. "Thanks?"

"I'm not going to bite your tongue off." GoGo rolled her eyes, but shot him a teasing grin. "No need to sound so scared. We've already kissed what, eleven times?"

 _Thirteen_ , he corrected her in his head, not wanting her to know that he had been counting. "I'm not scared," he protested. "All right, how do you want to do this?"

 _This is different. This is private, this is nowhere_ near _what Krei probably had in mind, but this will help. Right? This isn't simply for my benefit. Right?_ "Let's run our lines," GoGo said, interrupting her own internal tirade. "Just those few up until the part where you kiss me. Just… just go for it, and then I'll correct anything I think you're doing wrong."

"Got it," Tadashi said. He gestured towards the center of the room, and she stepped closer to him. "From the first 'stand down'?" he suggested. His co-star nodded briskly.

GoGo chuckled. "Imagine if the tabloids get news of this. _Stunt Queen teaches RomCom King how to kiss._ "

"That'll sell," Tadashi replied, rolling his eyes.

"Oh, come on," GoGo said, playfully shoving his arm. "You can kiss good. You won two awards for it. Think of this as… expanding your horizons."

"Did you just say that I'm a good kisser?" His eyes twinkled, and GoGo fought down a blush. He really _was_ handsome; she could see why he was a sought-after actor.

"I don't need your ego acting up on me," she snapped, "But if it makes any difference, I'll go with saying that I can see why you won those two said awards." There was a brief, uncomfortable silence in between them, and GoGo cleared her throat, glaring at him. "Okay, enough of that. And… _action_."

"Stand down," he said angrily, and leaned in towards her. "I'll give you another chance in the future."

"Bite me," GoGo hissed, crossing her arms over her chest.

"I'm not going to say it again. _Stand. Down._ "

"Make me."

Tadashi hesitated, and reached for the side of her face, instantly reverting back to his classic kisses. GoGo snapped out of character, shaking her head. " _No_. Don't hesitate. _Never_ hesitate. You lean in close, and you kiss me," she ordered. "And your hands." She reached for both of his hands, placing both of them squarely on her hips. " _This_ is where you want your hands to be," she said, a blush crawling up her neck. "From here, you can pull me in. Hook your fingers through my belt loops, or move a hand towards my lower back, whatever. Pull me in. You need to try and take control of me."

She startled him by placing her own hands at the collar of his shirt, bunching the fabric between her hands. "I'll fight back. That's what my character does, she's a little spitfire, a rebel. I'll fight for control, too." GoGo pulled him towards her, their faces now millimeters away. "And then," she said, her voice barely above a whisper, "You'll kiss me. Kiss me hard. Let your mind take over your hands, trust me. There's no need to be tame here, not like your previous movies." She maintained eye contact with him, still aware of his hands on her hips, as she delivered one last line.

"Don't be afraid to bruise me."

He leaned forward, as if he were about to kiss her (for real? As a practice run? She'd never know.), but then the sound of Krei shouting into his megaphone for the actors to return to the set interrupted them. Tadashi coughed, and both of them broke apart, blushing furiously. "Okay. Wow. I think I… I got it. Thanks."

"It was nothing," she muttered, trying to bring down her pulse rate and regulate her breathing. _Oh jeez, that was too close. Too close, GoGo._ "I think you got it, too. Now let's go to Krei before he bursts a vessel."

(*)

"There's something different," Krei noted, as both of his stars stepped on set.

"Sir?" His assistant, Fiona, looked up in confusion.

"There's a…" he searched for the right words, as everyone made sure that both of them were presentable, and retouched what needed to be done. "Tension. In between them. Can you see it, Fiona?"

Fiona looked at the two of them. Their director was _right_. It was barely discernable, but it was there. Something had changed. There was a charge of electricity in the air, and she knew that Krei saw this as a good sign. "I do."

"Then let's hope they deliver," Krei said, and directed his attention to everyone on set. "All right people, quiet please. And… Action!"

Alistair Krei was a brilliant director. He had worked with many young actors and actresses, and he had worked with GoGo more than a couple of times. That was how he _knew_ that there was something just bubbling underneath the surface, something more than the anger that GoGo was about to project. It was _tension_ , and it was the kind that was not suitable for a younger audience. This would be the take that would make it into the movie. He could feel it in his bones.

He watched, intrigued, as both of them interacted with each other. It was interesting, really, how easily they complimented each other. These two young adults, who had never worked together before, and excelled in two completely different genres, had a chemistry that could easily rival Kate Winslet and Leonardo DiCaprio's. He balanced her out; she had a tendency to be overtly brash and condescending, whereas he was the complete opposite. The pair shared a unique, complex relationship, both on and off-screen, and it was rare for Krei to find a pair that stuck to his mind like glue.

He _needed_ to direct another movie with Tadashi and GoGo. They would be the next 'It' thing.

(*)

GoGo stared up into his eyes, her eyes smoldering, daring him to go beyond his limits. "Make me." _Come on, Hamada. Make an impromptu kissing teacher proud._

He shocked her by roughly grabbing her around the waist and pulling her closer, a very real, very carnal hunger in his eyes. "I'll _make you_ , all right," he murmured, and before GoGo realized that he had gone completely off-script, he bent down and kissed her.

This was different from their previous takes. This kiss wasn't sweet, innocent Tadashi Hamada. This wasn't a good night kiss. This was fire, this was raw, unadulterated passion and it was _so. Damn. Good._ She realized belatedly that she was supposed to fight back, and so she did. She grabbed at the front of his shirt, using him as an anchor as she launched herself upwards, standing on the tip of her toes. They crashed together and it was clumsy, but it was a wonderful crash – a beautiful, terrifying thunderstorm.

They had little time to actually enjoy this kiss, though, as they heard the sounds of heavy footsteps – their _other_ co-stars, pounding against the floor. She balked, realizing that this wasn't real life, that they were actually being filmed. The movement was natural enough for Tadashi to slowly lean back himself, a hand over his chest as he tried to slow down his breathing. GoGo edged away from him, eyeing the stunned expression on his face. "We are _so_ messed up," she muttered.

"Tell me about it."

"And _cut_!" Krei called out, oblivious to the relief on their face. " _That's_ what I'm talking about, Tadashi. Brilliant, brilliant, brilliant! I don't see why we can't finish the film with the same fire!"

"Do we need any more takes for that?" GoGo asked, kicking herself for sounding hopeful. Tadashi muffled a smile and a cough behind his mouth, and GoGo glared at him. _Great. Of_ course _he needed an ego boost._

Krei shook his head. "That was perfect. I don't know if we can replicate that raw emotion another time. That was perfect, was it not?" Krei turned to the rest of the crew, who nodded in unison. "Let's just move onto the next scenes, and if there's any reason at all for us to retake that scene, we will."

Tadashi and GoGo nodded, and then looked at each other briefly while waiting for the next scene to start. "Hey. Um, thanks," Tadashi spluttered, turning red. "That, er, practice session… it really helped."

GoGo chuckled. "Glad I could help. We're co-stars, right?" She sounded fake, even to her own ears. _Co-stars_? _You've gotta be kidding me,_ GoGo thought to herself, dismayed. She thoroughly _enjoyed_ that kiss. And all the other kisses before. Was it so bad to want a _real_ one? She was only human, after all.

The look in his eyes was unfathomable as he gave her a little nudge. "Co-stars."

(*)

 _Today is my 8_ _th_ _anniversary of being on FFnet! This fic is actually supposed to be doubly long – this was originally supposed to be five thousand-ish words long, and then I realized today was my anniversary, and I just wanted to release an onslaught of fics and chapters to commemorate! Second part to this will be coming up soon – I hope I do it justice._

 _Also – new cover by ayinvui on Tumblr! Please do check out her work – besides being an_ _amazing_ _friend, she's also a wonderful artist and agh. The way she draws is just magic._

 _This fic was also partially inspired by the movement to have more Asian characters as lead roles in movies. Like I said,_ partially _, so instead of making it the main issue, I just decided to make it a fact in the story._

 _As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!_


	6. Chemistry

_#006: In which she's a teacher, and also thinks that he's… gay?_

 _Special Note: Thank you so much ayinvui for noticing my typo. :)_

(*)

GoGo nearly wept with joy when she saw that there was only one more parent to deal with on that Saturday evening.

Sure, she was a teacher, and sure, she loved what she did. But she did _not_ like sacrificing her precious, few weekends off. Weekends where she could easily be relaxing at home, watching the latest episode of _Criminal Minds_ , a glass of red wine in her hands, and her partner in crime, Max the husky, at her side. But _no_ , sometimes she had to stay in school and talk to parents, and tell them that _yes_ , their child really _did_ draw an inappropriate drawing of the Music teacher, and _no_ , their son was not a delinquent in the making, and the list went on… and on… _and on_.

Luckily, GoGo thought, as she eyed the list on her desk, the last parent she had to talk to was the parent of a surprisingly good student – her _favorite_ student, actually. Little Abby Hamada.

Abby Hamada wasn't in any _serious_ trouble, truth be told. GoGo was only going to talk about a little, _minor_ incident, that happened during one of their Health classes, and then of course, reassure the parent (whoever decided to show up) that Abby was still a star student. This discussion, GoGo calculated in her mind, would be about twenty minutes long, tops. After which, she would be free to go home, and swoon over Dr. Spencer Reid's intelligence.

Unlike the other parents who frequented this room whenever their kids got into trouble, GoGo was not familiar with Abby's. She didn't really know what to expect, although she already had the picture of a traditional Asian couple in mind. A middle-aged man, a beautiful woman, both of whom would look like they hadn't aged a day since they hit their twenties, a couple that would make her bubble up with envy at her own 'Single' status.

She had already envisioned the couple in her head, so it was safe to say that she was a bit surprised when a tall, broad-shouldered man walked into her classroom, looking like he had just leapt off of the front cover of _Vogue_. "Hi, I'm Tadashi Hamada? Here for Abby?" He smiled at her, and she could only nod once, briskly, before gesturing at the seat in front of her like a mute idiot. _Ooh, Abby's got one hot dad_ , GoGo thought to herself, and then immediately wiped the impure thoughts from her mind.

"Hi, I'm Miss Tanaka. It's nice to meet you." GoGo was pleased that she hadn't stuttered, and pleased that she still sounded like the teacher her eleven year-old pupils respected. "Thanks for agreeing to meet me tonight at such short notice. We're here to discuss-" She bent down to reach for a folder, and was surprised when she heard a loud _thump_ on the top of her desk.

Tadashi Hamada had practically emptied out his satchel, bringing out his _own_ folders, (she counted three of them) loose leaves of paper spilling out even as he flipped through them. "I just thought it would be good to bring all of Abby's work since Kindergarten," he blurted out, eyes on his (or rather, Abby's) papers. "I mean, she's such a good student, I was a bit shocked when she gave me your note."

Her eyes widened in shock. In the span of no less than two minutes, he had shifted from cover boy to overly concerned parent – and she found it _adorable_.

"She's had straight A's ever since," Tadashi continued to blabber on, separating five papers that GoGo assumed were Abby's report cards. "Except for that one B she got in Art when she was in second grade, but hey, we all get lousy grades in _Art_ every once in a while, right?"

Now, she felt like she needed to stop him. The way he was going, he was working himself up towards a panic attack, which would no longer be adorable. "Mr. Hamada-"

"And there's never been a _day_ when she doesn't come home and do her homework _before_ she takes a break to watch TV or go online," he continued, bestowing GoGo with papers from Abby's previous years, all with stars, 'Good job!' stamps, and stickers, depending on the year. "She's just a joy to have in the household and both Hiro and I are lucky to have her," he stated, still searching his folders for evidence of Abby's goodness.

 _Hiro_? The name made GoGo's ears perk up. Hiro was a _boy's_ name. At least, that's what she knew to _her_ knowledge. So if this Hiro was a boy, then that meant… The young teacher practically deflated. _I knew it was too good to be true_ , she thought to herself, sighing. Well, what did she expect, really? He _was_ here, at a teacher-parent conference, so that meant that he had to be in an intimate relationship with one other human being which had resulted in a child, or the adoption of a child.

Boy, she sure knew how to pick 'em.

"Mr. Hamada," she tried again.

"I mean, I don't really know why you need to see me." The words were supposed to sound harsh, but from him, it sounded more like a wounded puppy was talking. "She's a star student, always been one." He finally raised his eyes to meet hers, and for some reason, he finally fell silent. GoGo couldn't help but compare the look in his eyes to the one Abby got in hers whenever GoGo explained a particularly difficult lesson.

 _Respect_.

"Are you finished?" she asked, giving a pointed look at the hundreds of papers scattered on the top of her desk. He flushed, and tried to re-arrange the papers.

"Wow, I really plunged into that one, huh?" He asked sheepishly, to which GoGo couldn't help but bite back a grin.

"Mr. Hamada, I'm not disagreeing with you at all," GoGo stated, watching him slowly transform back into calm, collected pretty boy. "Abby _is_ a star student, and she _is_ a joy to have in the classroom. In fact, she has the rare talent of teaching me something new about myself every once in a while, which I am grateful for." It _was_ true, in a way. Abby's frequent insistence to the rest of the class that 'Miss Tanaka would look _so_ good with my uncle, because he's so sweet and she looks like someone who needs to be taken care of' _did_ remind GoGo that she had been single for a while now, and that it wouldn't hurt to at least _try_ and look for something permanent in her life.

Something permanent besides her weekends with Dr. Spencer Reid. Which, GoGo reminded herself, she absolutely would _not_ find during her parent-teacher conferences. Emphasis on the _parent_.

"So why are we here, then?" Tadashi asked her, his deep voice abruptly shaking her from her thoughts. "If this has nothing to do with her grades, then what's the problem?"

GoGo hesitated. "It's more of the disciplinary nature than academic – _let me finish_ ," she couldn't help but add, seeing him open his mouth in indignation. "I'm not the one who wanted to talk to you, actually. A co-teacher of mine, Abby's Music teacher, caught her reading in class."

He looked a bit confused. "But aren't kids _supposed_ to be reading in class?"

"A fiction book, Mr. Hamada," she explained. "I did, however, take the initiative of talking to Abby, and she seemed to understand." She finally allowed a small smile to grace her features. "She's very mature for her age. I just thought you'd like to be aware of the situation."

"Thanks for talking to her," Tadashi replied, his posture becoming more relaxed. He leaned back in his seat, his tall, lanky body accentuated by the much smaller chair. "She looks up to you a lot, you know." A brief, small smile that was finally directed at _her_ gave her butterflies. "It's hard for her, not having any female or mother figure," he explained. GoGo was once again forcibly reminded of the fact that this handsome man was the father of her star student, _and_ gay.

"I understand," she nodded briskly. "However, this isn't even the main thing I wanted to talk to you about." She handed him the folder she'd been reaching for earlier, and watched him leaf through the contents. "There's a state science fair happening in two months, and the principal wants me to choose one student from the entire grade to represent the school. Seeing as Abby has a penchant for science, I thought I'd choose her. If it's all right with you, of course."

"Are you kidding?" He looked positively _thrilled_. "Hiro's going to be so proud!" Tadashi's eyes went back to the pieces of paper. " _Oh_. It's a three-hour drive away."

"I'll be chaperoning," GoGo automatically responded. "And of course, if you really want to, you or Hiro could accompany us." She couldn't help but smile again at the excitement she could easily read in his eyes – the excitement, the happiness… the _pride_. He was a plethora of emotions, and GoGo couldn't keep up with them. "Of course, I'd actually be making arrangements right now, but I really do need the parent's permission before actually doing anything," GoGo explained, reaching over to flick over to page three, where a dotted line needed to be signed.

"Oh, you do?" Tadashi looked up at the ceiling, his look pensive. "Do you need permission right now?"

Confused at his reaction, she shook her head. "It would be _nice_ to have your permission now, but if you wanted to wait for Hiro, I don't mind." _Why would he need to wait for Hiro_? GoGo mused to herself. _He's Abby's father as much as Hiro is… unless he sincerely just wants to make sure Hiro approves… or Hiro wears the pants in the relationship…_ GoGo was so busy trying to figure out the dynamics of their relationship, she almost didn't hear his next few sentences.

"I'm Abby's legal guardian, but I don't like pulling that card unless it's an emergency, or if I can't reach Hiro," Tadashi explained, giving the contents of the folder one last look before closing it. "Hiro's flying back by next Wednesday, so I don't think that's a problem?"

The implication hit her like a truck, and GoGo spluttered. "Wait – you're not Abby's dad?" _Possibly not gay. Possibly not married. Possibly single. Reign it in, Tanaka, don't look too obvious!_

The implication hit him as well, and Tadashi had the decency to blush. "I thought you were aware of Abby's, erm, situation!"

"Since we're only a month into the new school year, I haven't had time to ask about my students' personal lives just yet," she replied testily, her face turning a rare shade of pink.

"Oh – so you thought – that Hiro and I were… I was…" Tadashi groaned. "I don't blame _you_ , damn it, I just always seem to give off that impression." He turned an even more vibrant shade of red. "I'm _so_ sorry for not explaining earlier, I just assumed…" Tadashi inhaled deeply, and smiled at her. "All right, let's start over. Hi. I'm Tadashi Hamada. Abby's _uncle_."

"Now that makes much more sense," GoGo chuckled. "If anything, I'm sorry as well, I should have asked about anything I wasn't sure about."

"Oh, I assure you, Miss Tanaka," Tadashi said, a mischievous twinkle in his eyes. "I'm very much straight, and very much single."

GoGo blushed – was he seriously flirting with her? She decided to change the subject. "You, er, said earlier that it was hard for Abby since she didn't have a mother figure in her life?"

His expression turned somber. "Abby's mom, she… she died when Abby was born. Hiro was devastated, you know? Despite him being a bit more immature than I would have liked, he loved her a lot. He's a pilot, you see, so he's not around a lot. So I pitched in to help take care of Abby since she was a baby. I guess, technically, it would be correct to say that I _am_ her dad… just not by blood."

"I'm so sorry," she said immediately, but he was already shaking his head.

"It's not a problem," Tadashi smiled gently at her. "You didn't know."

There was a comfortable silence where GoGo found it impossible to look away from him. He was nice, a loving family man, and it didn't hurt that he was pretty good-looking… did she _dare_ try to ask him more about himself? She knew she was straddling the fine line of ethical relationships with her students' relatives – surrogate parent or not – but she couldn't help but feel magnetized to him, to the easy way they talked, and… Her eyes landed on the wall clock. "Oh. Wow. It's quarter to nine already?" she squawked, standing up abruptly and stowing the folder into her desk drawer. She watched as Tadashi hurriedly stuffed Abby's graded works into his bag. "The caretaker closes the school gates at nine, we really don't want to be locked in here," she explained. After a bit of hesitation, she held out her hand, offering a handshake. "It was nice meeting you, Mr. Hamada."

He grasped her hand firmly in his, his large hand easily swallowing up her smaller one. "Tadashi, please. I could say the same for you, too, Miss Tanaka."

"You can call me GoGo," she replied quickly, wondering where _that_ had come from.

He smiled. "All right. GoGo."

GoGo smiled at him as she removed her hand from his grasp, and started to bustle around her classroom, trying to tidy up as quick as possible. "It's quicker if you take the exit on your right," she told him. "It's all the way down the hallway, you won't need to turn, or anything."

He was quiet, and GoGo just assumed he had already exited her classroom until she looked up again and saw that he was still standing there. "Where do you live?" He asked, and as if realizing how unprofessional he sounded, blushed again.

GoGo had an identical blush on her own face. "Oh. Uh, I live in Stanford Ville, I'm not sure if you're familiar with the area-"

"I actually am. We're a fifteen-minute drive away from you," he said, visibly brightening up. "Do you need a ride home?"

 _Yes_ , she thought immediately, and thought better of it. _Come on, GoGo, think! Do you really want this?_ "I don't want to be any trouble," GoGo said slowly, reaching for her bag.

"You wouldn't be," he reassured her. "I pass _right_ by Stanford all the time! Although, even if you _were_ out of the way…" he smiled teasingly. "I would _still_ offer to drive you home."

"This isn't professional," GoGo said to herself, not realizing that she had actually said it out loud until he responded, a hint of a smile in his eyes.

"If it makes you feel any better, Abby's been trying to set me up with you since the school year started," he narrated. "Telling me about her 'insanely cool Science teacher' and how she'd be 'perfect' for me." Tadashi put his hands in his pockets, an irresistible smile on his face.

The pieces started to click together – Tadashi was the 'sweet' uncle Abby had been talking about – and GoGo bit her lip to keep from laughing. "Well, a Science teacher needs a bit of scientific proof to see if there's enough chemistry to keep the experiment going."

"And when would this experiment start?" he asked, playing along with her.

GoGo finally made her decision, and grabbed her messenger bag. "Is now okay?"

He offered her his arm, smiling widely as she placed a hand in the crook of his elbow. " _Definitely_ okay."

(*) **Bonus Part – an 'Omake', if you will** (*)

Abby Hamada was not proud of the fact that she knew her Uncle Tadashi more than she knew her own father, but she took it in stride. The minute he stepped foot through the door, a ridiculously cheesy grin on his face, she pointed accusingly at him. "You're late."

He bent down to kiss her on the forehead, trying to placate her. "I bought you ice cream – Mint chocolate chip. Where's Fred?" He asked, mentioning the long-time family friend and neighbor who, most of the time, served as an impromptu babysitter.

"Watching the new Avengers movie," Abby rolled her eyes (so like Hiro). "I wanted to watch something else, but he wouldn't let me."

Tadashi laughed. "Once I kick your Uncle Fred out of here, I'll let you watch _any_ movie you want."

She couldn't help but look at him suspiciously. " _Any_ movie?"

" _Any_ movie," he repeated seriously, and made his way into the kitchen, supposedly to get bowls for the ice cream.

Abby followed him, the curious niece she was. "Something happened to you."

"Mm?" He took his sweet time answering, dishing out scoops of ice cream into three different bowls. "Really, now?"

"You're smiling," she said suspiciously, even as she took a bowl of ice cream from him. "More than usual."

"I thought you'd be _happy_ , Abigail," Tadashi admonished her, bringing the two remaining bowls into the TV room. "After all, you _were_ the one who said I should ask your Science teacher out."

Abby stood still in the kitchen doorway, a spoon of ice cream halfway to her mouth. Tadashi smiled to himself as he waited for her reaction. He wasn't disappointed when he heard the loudest squeal in the world, followed by three words.

" _I want details!_ "

(*)

 _This idea's been floating in my head for a while, and I think it's_ soooooooo _cute how Abby's being a little matchmaker in her own way – this was originally supposed to be the opposite way around, with Tadashi being the teacher, and GoGo being some sort of older sister or aunt to Tadashi's student. In the end, with the given characters of the BH6 universe, I thought it would be easier if Tadashi were the parent, and GoGo the teacher – I'm actually pretty happy of how this turned out!_

 _Next chapter will most likely be the follow-up to Cassiopeia (a.k.a Waiter Tadashi), since Taylor Swift inspired me. Ahh, you'll get it next chapter._

 _As always, I've yet to spell check this, but I couldn't resist posting it_ now _. So if you spot any typos or recurring paragraphs, feel free to let me know!_

 _Hope you enjoy reading this as much I enjoyed writing it!_


	7. Reach Her

_AU #007: In which his music makes its way into her heart._

 _Note: Here we have a little sort of crossover. There is no_ _plot_ _crossover, however, this is more of borrowing characters. I'll explain more of this later._

 _Note [2]: Happy birthday to the wonderful artist who is the brains behind most of the art and cover images I use for most of my fics – ayinvui! Here is yet another birthday present from moi._

(*)

His eyes were closed, not screwed shut, mind you, but closed serenely, as if he was asleep. He held his violin with the sense of gentleness and love, and cradled it like a baby. His bow was held lightly with a hand that was both elegant yet calloused; the same could be said for the hand holding his violin. He swayed with the music, almost flying with it while his feet remained firmly planted on the floor. And the music? _Oh, the music._

It was beautifully melancholic, a song of longing and love. It was haunting, yet genuine, and told a _story_. One could only begin to fathom what the story was even about, but it was beautiful nonetheless. His violin sang with notes that rung true and clear, never faltering or making a mistake. He commandeered his violin like a pro, but with an ease that only came with years and _years_ of practice.

"You're swooning again, sweetie."

GoGo snapped out of her reverie, and focused her attention on the two individuals who had just entered _Juan's Fabulous Pooch Salon_. "I was not, Honey." It was an automatic response from GoGo, who was currently sitting at the window that faced the street, two of the windows opened slightly so that the music could creep into the salon.

Honey's companion, who was just as tall and slim as Honey was, snorted unattractively. "I sense _denial_ ," he trilled, sitting down next to GoGo so that both of them could stare across the street. "You've been watching him for the past two months, I think?"

"Stop teasing her, Wallace," Honey chided. "She'll admit it when she wants to. Right, GoGo?"

GoGo merely rolled her eyes, and stood up. "Where's Maximo?" Maximo, a beautiful, white, purebred Persian cat, let out a loud and strangled meow from a portable cage that was placed on the floor next to Wallace. "There he is." GoGo bent down to get the cat from his light blue pet carrier. "Anything special, Wallace?"

Wallace waved his hand dismissively. "You always know what looks best, GoGo."

GoGo couldn't help but smile as she left the two in the waiting room. Despite arguments, Wallace and Honey had quickly transitioned from regular customers to the closest friends that GoGo could ever ask for. Wallace took great care of Maximo on his own, but he took the cat for monthly visits to _Juan's_ as a treat. GoGo worked part-time as a groomer at Juan's, and upon meeting Honey (who usually accompanied Wallace to these visits), the taller female had immediately staked some sort of claim on GoGo, slowly befriending her over the months. Wallace had gradually followed Honey's footsteps, trusting GoGo fully once he realized that Maximo actually _preferred_ that GoGo was the one to brush through the long, (expensive), thick mane.

So much had their friendship grown, that Wallace and Honey usually spent their afternoons in the salon anyways, just to hang out. GoGo enjoyed their company; both of them were as flamboyant and friendly as GoGo was stoic and silent, which balanced out the friendship greatly.

GoGo set the cat on a table in the back room, making reassuring noises as Maximo started yowling. "Oh, Max, we've been through this before. You _know_ I'm going to have to do this to you." GoGo sighed, and made her way over to her phone, which was connected to a speaker. With reluctance, she finally chose her 'Classical' playlist, and as the soothing sound of a piano filled the room, Maximo finally sat down and relax. The classical music made GoGo think about the violinist across the street, and she couldn't help but smile to herself as she started brushing.

She didn't remember _exactly_ when she started noticing the violinist across the street, but there was one thing she _was_ certain of. Once she _started_ watching him, she could never look away. One day, she just happened to be looking straight across the street, and saw him, playing his violin and making the most wonderful music. GoGo wasn't a fan of classical music, not at all. But there was something so different and authentic with the way _he_ played the violin that just made classical music so… beautiful.

She found himself watching for him every afternoon, and slowly adjusting her work hours so that she would be in the front room from three in the afternoon to four-thirty. On Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Fridays, the young man stood directly across the street, where she could observe him from _Juan's_ , and he would just set down his messenger bag and violin case and _play_. He let loose a cacophony of different songs every day, from classical music to covers of popular songs, but one thing never changed – there was _one_ song that he played _every_ single time he performed. The haunting, beautiful melody that GoGo had been witnessing right when Wallace and Honey walked in.

She'd noticed that he repeated the song about after two weeks of spying on him. The notes had become so familiar to her that she could tell when he was going to hit a high note, or strike a tantalizingly low one. One day, she promised herself, one day she'd ask him why he played that song in particular. It was a song he loved, obviously, one he knew by heart. But that wasn't the only thing she wondered about him – he was a street musician for sure, but he didn't accept money. He didn't open up his violin case, didn't leave a hat upturned in front of him. Even when the rare passerby just went up and forked a bill at him, he would just shake his head, smile, and continue playing. From what she could tell, he played simply for the joy of playing.

If anything, this was the main reason why she kept watching him – the unadulterated joy and happiness. How she dreamed of being that happy, of being _that_ content. That's what she told himself, even _as_ she would reluctantly admit to herself that he was pretty good-looking, too.

"Looks like we're all good," GoGo said under her breath, as Maximo purred contentedly from underneath her caring hands. She'd just trimmed off the excess fur, and brushed off the excess fur, thankful that her job had been made a bit easier since Wallace insisted on washing Maximo himself. "Come on, dreamboat, let's go get you out to meet your owner."

"He's _gorgeous_!" Wallace crooned, scooping his prize pet from GoGo's arms. "Honey, isn't he gorgeous?"

"Of course he is," Honey agreed, scratching Maximo behind the ears. "GoGo always does a great job."

GoGo shrugged. "All in a days' work."

"And now that you're _done_ with your work…" Wallace grinned, and gestured grandly at the window, where the violinist continued to play. "We can deal with _that_."

GoGo looked up suspiciously at the pair. " _What_?"

"Well…" Honey smiled sweetly. "We wondered if you'd ever really voiced out wanting to _meet_ him, so we thought that today was a _perfect_ day for you to start talking to him!"

She made a face. "I do _not_ want to talk to him!"

"Even if you _don't_ want to talk to him," Wallace rolled his eyes, the disbelief clear on his face, "Let's all just assume that you need a new friend."

"A friend."

"Yes!" Honey chimed in. "You need another friend, sweetie! And it won't hurt if your new friend is actually really, really, really hot!"

" _Honey_."

"Oh, come on, GoGo. It's not going to take you ten minutes. All you have to do is cross the street and say hi!" Wallace insisted, starting to nudge her towards the door.

"Just cross the street and say hi?" GoGo spluttered, trying to resist her _dear_ friends. "He'll think I'm trying to pick him up!"

"If he gets that impression, then… great!"

" _Wallace_."

"Sweetie, we've been watching you moon over him for three months. It wouldn't hurt to go over and say hi." Honey smiled, giving her a reassuring squeeze on the shoulders. "Look. We'll admit to trying to fix you up with him. But we just want you to be _happy_." As the months passed, Honey and Wallace had realized that their little friend was a bit more closed-off than she let on. She looked _lonely_ , empty, and she never had anything to say about it. They were going to expand her social circle, even if she didn't want to. If she didn't open up to them, maybe she'd open up to someone else.

GoGo sighed, knowing that neither of them was going to give it up anyways. "Fine. I'll go. Say hi. Whatever."

"Yay!" Honey clapped her hands, a huge smile on her face. "Oh, GoGo, I'm so proud of you!"

GoGo rolled her eyes, making sure to flip the sign to 'Having a Quick Break' before exiting. "It's on you two if I embarrass myself." As she waited to cross the street, she studied the object of her… no, not attraction. The object of her curiosity? That sounded better. She studied the object of her curiosity, noting how lost he was in the music, a small smile on his face.

 _Maybe they were right. Maybe it's not a bad idea to become friends with this person._ She crossed the street slowly, knowing he was smack in the middle of a song. She'd hate to interrupt him, or distract him from what he was doing. GoGo couldn't help but feel a bit more nervous as she took a few more steps towards him, the distance between them closing step by step. Finally, she was a mere foot away from him, and she just stopped in her tracks, slowly getting trapped in the music he weaved.

If he had sounded wonderful from across the street, he sounded even more wonderful up close. She could now appreciate his good looks (and admit it to herself – _daaaaamn._ ), his height, his smile, his face. She felt herself swoon. _Come on, GoGo, pull yourself together._

Suddenly, as if he could read his mind, he turned so that he was now facing her. And just like a switch went off in his head, he quickly transitioned from suave, collected musician to a frightened amateur. His arm jerked, bringing the bow down harshly across his violin. The shriek his violin emitted shocked GoGo to her core – she had _never_ seen him get him thrown off like this.

"Sorry! Sorry!" He apologized, seeing the wince on her face. "It's just… uh… you caught me off guard." He laughed nervously, lowering his violin. "Wow. This is embarrassing."

GoGo held her hands up, stepping backwards. "No, I'm sorry. I shouldn't have snuck up on you like that."

"You didn't sneak up on me!" He reassured her, smiling at her. "Wait. How rude of me. I'm Tadashi." He switched his bow to the other hand, and held out his free hand to her.

"I'm GoGo." She gripped his hand, the warmth of his hand spreading up her arm. "I work at _Juan's_." She gestured across the street with her free arm, trying to ignore her two friends, who were currently pressed up against the window like children.

"Oh, that's great." He smiled, letting go of her hand. "I've never really been good with animals – I mean, I have a cat, but technically he's my _aunt's_ cat, but that's not the same thing as what _you_ do, and I'm rambling and I should stop right now." A slight blush crawled up the back of his neck.

She couldn't help but smile at this. For some reason, she had envisioned him to be some stuck-up musician. To be proven wrong _this_ way was great. "Nah, that's fine. I just wanted to say hi. And I really like it when you… play." Now it was _her_ turn to blush. As she looked away to hide the blush from him, she missed the look of glee that flashed across his face. "I have to get back to work, anyways. I'm on break."

"That's cool, that's fine," he said, bringing his violin back to his chin. "Hey, we should talk more."

She smiled at him, tilting her head to the side. "Yeah. We should."

Before she turned around to cross the street again, he called out to her. "Um, wait! Do you have any requests? It's the least I could do for a new friend."

GoGo pursed her lips. "Uhm… how about _you_ choose the song? Anything you think I'll like, really." She waited for him to start playing, as he finally positioned his bow across the strings. To her surprise, he started playing the same song he repeated for _all_ of his little performances – the beautiful, classical melody.

One day, she'd ask him the significance of that song. But for now, she waved to him as she crossed the street.

(*)

Tadashi watched her leave, as he continued playing Chopin's ballade number 1 in G Minor, Opening 23. _So wishes really do come true_ , he mused to himself, trying to convey his emotions through his violin. He envisioned the notes flying across the street with gilded wings, crossing the road and finally, _finally_ , reaching the beautiful young woman who worked across the street.

He'd noticed her a long time ago; _five_ months ago, to be exact. She'd walked into the pet salon just as he had gotten into position, and without any other thought in his mind, he started playing Chopin's ballade number 1. It _fit_ , for some reason, and he played it every single day, hoping that his music would one day reach her, and touch her soul.

And it finally had.

(*)

 _End! Ahhhhhhhhh oh my gosh so many things to talk about in this Author's Note._

 _Okay so I've been studying a lot recently, and most of the music in my study playlist are violin covers by Lindsey Stirling, Daniel Jang, Simply Three, The Piano Guys, and many other people. And so the idea came into mind – what if Tadashi or GoGo played? What if? The idea formed, and suddenly crossed over with Shigatsu wa Kimi no Uso (Your Lie in April); one of my favorite, most heartbreaking animes of all time. Your Lie in April helped me choose 'The Song' that Tadashi would ultimately dedicate to GoGo – Chopin's Ballade Number 1 in G Minor, Opening 23. If that sounds familiar to you, this is the song in the final episode of Your Lie In April, where Arima (male protagonist) plays this as a 'duet' with Kaori, and in which Arima continuously repeats the words 'Reach her. Reach her. Reach her.' I found it fitting._

 _Also, for anyone who recognized the character (or two) that 'crossed over', kudos to you! Wallace is the Eighth Gym Leader/Champion of the Hoenn League from the Pokemon Franchise; Juan is his former mentor and Gym Leader, as well. The reason I specifically brought_ Wallace _in was because Ayin and I, both avid fans of the Pokemon games and anime, suddenly had this idea that Honey and Wallace would be the_ Best _of friends if they ever met. Will this little idea of ours blow up into something bigger? We'll see._

 _As always, I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it – if you want to check out more of Ayin's works, she's on Tumblr as ayinvui._

 _PS If you noticed any errors, feel free to point them out! Constructive criticism will always be appreciated._


	8. Gotcha

_I am currently trapped in the hell that is creating fanfictions for your own personal amusement, along with ayinvui. It's a long story, so I might tell you guys about it some other time. For now, here's a very short, very sweet oneshot that I need to write in order to gain back my sanity. This is considered an AU and part of Ikigai for the mere fact that Tadashi is still alive._

 _AU 008: He hates it when she has to leave in the mornings. (Rated T+ for slightly mature content, and mentions of sex.)_

 _Note: I felt like using the present tense for this fic. I don't know, it just… fits. Sorry for the abrupt change._

 _Note (2): You may or may not want to listen to DNCE's Toothbrush while you read this. Ah. This song. Just. Ah._

(*)

 _Maybe if I move slowly enough, I'll be able to sneak away._

GoGo chews on the inside of her cheek as she tries to calculate the best way to sneak out of Tadashi Hamada's arms and out the front door of his apartment, without disturbing him or waking him up, of course. The first thing she has to do, of course, is to slip out of his arms unnoticed. This shouldn't be too hard; she's small, and fast. She also knows that Tadashi sleeps like a rock, so she should have no problem whatsoever in raising the arm that's resting over her hip, and rolling away like the ninja she'd like to believe she is. _1… 2… 3!_ GoGo moves quickly, lifting his arm _just_ enough so that she can slip through his grasp, and scoots off the bed without making a ruckus…

Until she overshoots and rolls over the bed with a _thump_!

Wincing, and immediately thanking all the deities in the world for making sure that Tadashi's bedroom floor is _carpeted_ , she stands up quickly, hoping that Tadashi doesn't hear anything. She eyes Tadashi as he snores, absentmindedly reaching for the nearest pillow and hugging it tightly to his chest. GoGo smiles, shaking her head, and she starts creeping around his bedroom for the clothing articles that she has yet to find.

She finds her panties underneath his bed ( _How did they get under there?_ ), and luckily they're still wearable, so she slips them on easily, her eyes already searching for another item of clothing she can wear. For some reason, her shorts are on top of his dresser, haphazardly thrown over some college books and papers. These are the next to be put on.

To her chagrin, she remembers that a certain _someone_ who was still practicing how to unclasp a bra had snapped the clasps on a relatively new bra the night before. "How the hell am I going to wear this?" she mutters, holding up the purple bra that had been hidden behind his drawer. Realizing that one clasp is still attached and, well, _clasp-able_ , she decides to wear it _anyway_ , hoping her bra doesn't snap on the bike ride home.

Her shoes are outside, so there's _that_ problem solved, but where was her _shirt_? She groans inwardly. GoGo has faint memories of being shirtless even _before_ they had stepped into the bedroom, but she doesn't really want to search his entire apartment for the tank top she'd worn the night before. She smirks to herself as she sees his own shirt, a plain white tee, dumped somewhere near his bedroom door. _He probably has a million of these_ , she reasons to herself as she bends down and slips it on.

 _It smells like him,_ she muses to herself as she tugs it over her head. It strangely smells like pepper, or _something_ spicy, combined with the slightly muted scent of his cologne. She starts to tiptoe out of his room, until she catches her reflection in the mirror. Her hair is sticking up, wild and messy (quite like the passion they shared last night), but nothing a quick finger-comb could fix. She's immediately thankful that she's had the initiative to check herself in the mirror first, because her hair, combined with the lovely red mark that's just starting to bruise her neck, would have been an _easy_ giveaway as to what she'd been doing the night before. She takes a few minutes to make her hair presentable, thankful that the hickey is high enough on her neck that it can be covered by her hair, and continues her slow and steady trek towards the bedroom door.

"It's common courtesy, you know, to at least ask permission before you borrow something."

She lets out a muffled shriek, and turns around to see her boyfriend smiling warmly at her from the bed, his hair tousled and his eyes still trying to blink the sleep away. "I was going to text you when I got home," she mumbles from her spot near the door, as she nervously shifts her weight from foot to foot.

The smile doesn't disappear from his face; if anything, it grows even warmer. "How many times do I need to tell you that you shouldn't feel the need to sneak out after you sleep over?"

GoGo sighs, defeated, and she leans against the wall. "I'm going to be late for work. I didn't think I needed to wake you."

Tadashi raises an eyebrow. "You don't need to report for work until 9 AM," he notes, eyeing his clock, which reads 7:10 AM.

"I _know_ that," she tries to explain, "But I still have to go home, take a shower-"

"Take a shower here," he suggests, and GoGo blushes. "True, we might get distracted along the way, but it'll get the job done."

She glares at him. "And I still have to eat breakfast-"

"I'm pretty sure there's something edible in my refrigerator at the moment. Hiro always tries to make sure I'm fed."

"You're _so_ cute." GoGo rolls her eyes. "And I still have to change, brush my teeth, _comb my hair_ ," she stresses. "I can't do all of that here."

"Well, what if I told you I _wanted_ you to do all of that here?"

She stops talking, and stares at him, her jaw slackening. Sure, they'd been in a very loving, _very_ intimate relationship for the past five months, but she'd never actually expected him to invite her to _live_ with him until… well… they were married. (Tadashi gives off a very 'traditional' vibe.) "What?"

"All right, in simpler terms." He sits up on the bed, the lower half of his body still covered with sheets (and she's thankful for that, because there was no way she'd be able to get through this conversation with a straight head if those sheets had been sprawled all over the floor, for example). "I want _you_ , Leiko Tanaka, fondly called GoGo by our peers and close friends, to live in this apartment with me, which is _technically_ supposed to be for _two_."

She cuts him off. "All right, smart ass, I understand."

"You mean _nice_ ass."

GoGo groans. "Shut up," she tells him, but can't help but smile. "Look. I'll think about it. But for now, will you _please_ let me go home?"

"Don't I get a kiss good-bye?" He pouts, pointing at his lips. GoGo crosses her arms over her chest, and marches over to his side of the bed. He smiles up at her and she sighs, bending down to kiss him on the cheek – only for him to move his head so that their lips meet. He smiles into the kiss, and leans back a little, a smirk on his face. "Gotcha," he whispers, before he inserts his index fingers into the belt loops of her shorts, and pulls her back onto the bed.

Thirty minutes later, GoGo emerges from his apartment, a blush on her face, and yet another spot on her neck that she just _knows_ will grow to be a perfectly red hickey. "Damn it, Hamada."

(*)

 _Sweet Helix, I love this pairing. Question for the readers though – in a story, are you more likely to ship the best friends turned lovers? Or the pair that have just met, and suddenly have an amazing chemistry between them? Please respond, it's for science._

 _And for ayinvui and I's sanity. Please indulge us._

 _As always, thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoyed reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!_


	9. Whipped Cream

_I was scrolling through Tumblr and had this_ _ **immense need**_ _to write some Dork!Tadashi… or as ayinvui and I like to call him, Dorkdashi or Tadaclumsy. This is really short but I really like it~_

 _I hope you enjoy reading this as much as I enjoyed writing it!_

 _Note: This feels rushed and it_ is _rushed but I'm pumping with energy and I just need to spill all these words into my computer before I lose focus and ugh. I just needed to write this._

 _I'll edit it tomorrow when I'm coherent._

(*)

Tadashi tapped his feet impatiently on the tiled floor, waiting eagerly for the barista to finish up his order. It should have been a simple order, really – an iced latte – but it seemed like it was taking _forever_ to finish. He checked his watch for what seemed to be the millionth time, and sighed impatiently.

 _He didn't want to keep her waiting._

He glanced at the window of the café to confirm that _yes_ , GoGo was still studying a set of blueprints that she'd laid out on a table outside the café, and he breathed a sigh of relief. _Stay calm, Hamada. This isn't a date._ He inhaled slowly, and exhaled sharply.

 _Who are you trying to kid? That doesn't change the fact that you_ want _this to be a date!_

Tadashi dragged a hand down his face, trying to keep his composure. It had taken a lot of self-control for him _not_ to jump with joy when his robotics professor had paired him with GoGo for their finals project. It had taken him a lot of self-control for him _not_ to stutter and stammer after she'd casually asked him to meet up with her after class so they could discuss their possible projects.

 _Be the epitome of calm, Hamada. Be it._

He'd had a stupid crush on GoGo ever since she'd nearly run over his foot back in freshmen year; he'd cried out in shock and she turned to look at him over her shoulder to give him a look that was meant to be intimidating… but alas, the boy had found himself falling head over heels for her.

"Order for Tadashi?"

Tadashi kept a pensive frown on his face, already planning how he was going to talk to GoGo once they were both seated, only a table and a handful of blueprints in between them.

"Order for Tadashi?"

He sighed, and rubbed the bridge of his nose. Maybe the caffeine would help him calm down once it was in his system.

"Uh… order for Tadashi?"

Suddenly aware of at least three other people giving him meaningful looks, Tadashi jumped at the sound of his name. "Tadashi! That's me!" He announced unnecessarily, feeling the blood rush to his face when he saw the woman next to him roll her eyes discreetly. "Uh, thanks."

"No problem," the barista said, handing him his drink. "Good luck with your lady friend out there."

"We're just working on a project!" Tadashi protested, to which the barista, a tall, wiry-looking man with a mop of curly, golden-brown hair, answered with a crooked grin.

"Then stop looking like you're about to propose to her, hm?" He chuckled, and went back to the counter to check on other orders.

Tadashi tried to control his blush before he went outside – he _really_ didn't want GoGo to see him looking like a frustrated, blushing mess. As he headed towards the door, he saw that outside, GoGo was studying her drink with a frown, and he couldn't help but wonder what was wrong with it.

She'd ordered before him, so he didn't catch what she had ordered, but he could tell that this was some sort of ice-blended coffee or latte with a dollop of whipped cream on the top. _Maybe they'd gotten her order wrong_? He wondered to himself, steadying himself as he nearly bumped his hip into a table corner. _Whew, that was a close call._

He remained concentrated on her as GoGo pursed her lips and reached towards her iced drink. GoGo didn't hesitate as she plunged an index finger into the sphere of whipped cream floating on top of her drink. Before Tadashi could even begin to think about what was going on, he felt all the blood rush back into his face as she brought her index finger back up to her mouth…

 _And sucked the whipped cream clean off of her finger._

Suddenly all Tadashi could hear was a sickening _thud_ , feel a blossoming pain start to bloom in his forehead, and the feeling of a cold, wet substance splashed over the front of his cardigan.

 _He'd run into the door._

 _He'd spilled his latte all over him._

And as he scanned the café, hopefully to see that no one else had noticed his blunder and were going on with their lives.

 _Nope. They were all staring at him_.

The barista had a sympathetic grimace on his face, and Tadashi, stricken, decided to just go with the flow, hoping that _maybe_ , just _maybe_ , GoGo hadn't seen. He honestly didn't care if the entire café had just seen him faceplant into a glass door (He could always just… _never_ come back to this café again, Tadashi reasoned), as long as GoGo didn't…

His hope died when he saw her staring at him from outside, her eyes wide, her lips pulled into a concerned frown. Quick as she was, she was already halfway out of her seat, a handful of tissues in hand.

Tadashi prayed for the earth to swallow him up.

(*)

 _Dorkdashi is me. Dorkdashi is all of us._

 _If it wasn't apparent, all I wanted was a short scene where Tadashi makes a fool out of himself when he sees GoGo licking her fingers._

 _I am a simple female with simple wants._

 _Like I said, editing will be done tomorrow. I just wanted this uppppp. *hides in my shame corner*_


End file.
